Exclusive – Rio Ferdinand slams Dimitri Payet for refusing to play and says West Ham should make wantaway Frenchman ‘sit and rot’
Rio Ferdinand has told West Ham they should let Dimitri Payet ‘rot’.
The Frenchman is refusing to play for the Hammers as he pushes for a return to Marseille, a move that is now looking increasingly unlikely after the east London club turned down a third offer from the Ligue Un outfit earlier this week.
And former Upton Park favourite Ferdinand, who started his career as a junior at the club, insists Slaven Bilic must continue to take a hard line with the wantaway midfielder.
He told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast: “If I was the gaffer there I would say, ‘listen, until I get what I want for you money-wise, you can sit and rot’. That’s the way I’d be. The club is bigger than any football player, and if the respect has been taken out of the situation then you’ve got to deal with it accordingly.
“Payet is an unbelievable player, he’s a throwback to [Paolo] Di Canio and the fans loved him. But for this situation to arise is disappointing and leaves a sour taste.”
And Ferdinand, who played more than 500 club games and won six Premier League titles during his days at Manchester United, admits he could never have imagined a scenario where he would have downed tools.
He added: “When you talk about it, you think to yourself ‘would I have acted like that’? You have problems all throughout your career every now and then, they pop up, but thinking about not playing was something that never entered my head and, if I was in the changing room with someone like that, I wouldn’t have it.
“I can understand the frustration and the anger among the West Ham fans. I think every West Ham fan - or every football fan - if you gave them a chance to play for their club they would cut their right arm off to play. They can’t understand why he’s being paid so much money [but refusing to play].
“A bit more respect is due from Payet because without West Ham, would he have gone to the Euros [last summer]? Would we all be speaking about him? And would he be on the type of money he is now? I don’t think he would because West Ham gave him the platform to become what he is now.
“Sometimes, not just from clubs but from players as well, there are short memories in this game. He’s got to be a bit more respectful, although saying that we don’t know the ins and outs of the story and what’s gone on behind the scenes, so we have to reserve judgement in some capacity.
“But from what we’ve seen and understand from the media so far, that’s where I stand with it.”